comment

A round of thunderstorms will move through the Hudson Valley on Thursday in advance of the arrival of a rare summer rainstorm that will drench the area late Friday through Saturday, possibly leading to flooding.

Isolated to widely scattered thunderstorms are expected from late Thursday afternoon into Thursday tonight. The strongest of these storms could produce locally damaging winds, the National Weather Service said.

The rainstorm arriving Friday will be unusual since it will unleash steady rain for 12 hours or more in many locations as it moves slowly across the region, according to AccuWeather.com, which notes that in the summer, rainfall typically is limited to a few hours in the absence of a tropical rainstorm.

Areas north of I-84 will see less rain from the system.

The storm will roll eastward along a zone of temperature contrast with unusually cool air to the north and warm, sticky air to the south.

"This type of setup has the potential to deliver very heavy rainfall and raise the risk of flooding," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams said.

Thursday's high temperature will be around the 80-degree mark. Friday will be partly sunny with a high will be in the low-80s and the storm chance starting after 2 p.m.

Showers and thunderstorms will continue overnight and through the day Saturday before taping off in the afternoon. Saturday will be cloudy with a high in the low-70s.